If you don't feed them enough to grow 4cm in the 2 month period, does that mean they won't grow to their full potential?

Not really, as long as they reach 5.5cm in 4 months - these should reach 10cm BO around a year or so. But 4cm in 2 months should be able to get 12cm in over a year.

I'm still in the process of testing this myth - "if you don't feed them that much, can they grow to be giants". So far I can say that giant genes will boost their growth when ever they eat.... you could actually see the difference in 2-3 days. But it's too soon to conclude whether they can be giant size or not.

Not really, as long as they reach 5.5cm in 4 months - these should reach 10cm BO around a year or so. But 4cm in 2 months should be able to get 12cm in over a year.

I'm still in the process of testing this myth - "if you don't feed them that much, can they grow to be giants". So far I can say that giant genes will boost their growth when ever they eat.... you could actually see the difference in 2-3 days. But it's too soon to conclude whether they can be giant size or not.

Dad ate the eggs again...Could he just be hungry? Both times before I spawned him he hadn't eaten in a few days, he never wants pellets it seems like. He's so gorgeous, maybe I just need to feed him more or artificially hatch the eggs...Boo I'm sad.

I hope you all enjoyed the video. I released the female for another pair. Won't be updating until I have some fry. It's so frustrating when kids spawn their veitails in hours and weeks of trying have yielded no results here..

I currently have the same problem with 2 males. One is an egg eater - but he doesn't eat them right away. And the second one is a fry eater. Not sure why, maybe I'm disturbing them too much.

I'm trying them again but this time I plan to either takeout the males as soon as spawning is complete (artificially hatching the eggs) . Or I might spawn 3 males at once - the daddy of my current fry who is a proven good daddy and move all eggs to his nest. Haven't decided yet because this male is still healing from his illness.

Your male appears to be a piebald...? Perhaps a manifestation of a mixed marble strain. Personally I don't feed either fish until expelling has ceased or if one or both seem to be eating eggs... He's probably not hungry, really, it may be more of a temptation. If you see this happening more often, draw his attention away with a bloodworm or such... This usually temporarily satisfys my male's egg lust just until the fry hatch. We don't really have much control over who is an egg/fry eater and who isn't... Some males just don't prove to be good fathers. This could be a result of stress, however.

No, he's not piebald. He's "monster" aka white dragon scaling around the face like a mask. It's also not a result of stress, as I was away from the nest and there was no one in the house for two days after I removed the female from the tank...He wasn't eating the eggs while I was here...I'll try a bloodworm next time.